Pokemon Go Plus: Nintendo delays bluetooth accessory until September

Wrist-mounted device allows players to find and catch Pokémon without opening their phones.

A device that would allow Pokémon Go players to continue playing the hit mobile game with their phone in their pocket has been delayed. Nintendo announced this morning that the wrist-adorned Pokémon Go Plus will now launch in September.

It had been scheduled to launch on 31 July, arriving mere weeks after the game's launch around the world. In a tweet sent out this morning (27 July) Nintendo UK said: "The #PokémonGO Plus accessory will arrive in Sept instead of the originally expected end of July. Thanks for your patience, Trainers!"

The device uses a Bluetooth connection to alert Pokémon Go players to nearby Pokémon and PokéStops in the game, without having to have the game out and open on their smart device. It would vibrate and a light would blink when near a PokéStop, and when a Pokémon appears the light will just blink.

Go Plus would also allow users to catch Pokémon they've already caught before without the need to open the app fully. A button on the device can be used to throw a pokéball, and offers feedback if the capture attempt was successful.

The accessory is being developed and sold by Nintendo as part of its association with Pokémon Go, which was developed and published by Niantic in association with The Pokémon Company – which Nintendo owns just 32% of.

It's hard to imagine the delay not impacting sales in a major way. Were Go Plus released while the core game is at its most popular (or at least as interest is gradually starting to dissipate) then it could have sold incredibly well. Two months from now, interest in the game certainly won't be as high.